PS2 save games will work on PS3

Worried about the ability - or non-ability - to transfer PS2 save games to PS3, destroying the appeal of backwards compatibility action on Sony's new beast? Well, fear not - well, not too much - as the Japanese giant has confirmed in an official FAQ that punters will be able to stick old PS2 game saves (and, it appears, PSone game saves too) onto the next-gen console.

However, in its spillage of this slice of information in the FAQ, which is on Playstation.com, the company has stated that extra hardware will be required to move PS2 game saves to PS3 - due to the old memory cards not being physically compatible with the new machine.

In answer to the question, 'How do I save my PlayStation 2 Memory Card information to PlayStation 3?', Sony says: "To use saved data on a PlayStation 2 memory card, you must copy the data onto a virtual memory card within the hard disk. This requires a PS2/PSone memory card adaptor to copy the data to your PLAYSTATION 3. A memory card adaptor is designed to edit, up/download game saves to and from EMS flash card or smart media card."

Quite how we'll get our hands on this PS2/PSone memory card adaptor is - as there's no further official word on the product - currently a matter of debate. It may be offered out-of-the-box with PS3, or - and the cynic within reckons this more likely - it'll be offered as an optional purchase. We'll just have to wait and see.